Parade of mediocrity won’t cut it

THE 3-BLOG LOUNGE: That was looking like a pretty impressive Giants victory Thursday night until the bullpen got involved. This is such a disturbing flaw, especially in light of the brilliant games pitched consecutively by Noah Lowry and Matt Cain this week. For once, the Giants looked young and invigorated. They were showing off a bit of anchor for the future. It’s just a plain fact, though, that the bullpen is dreadful — and will be, right to the finish, unless Brian Sabean can work some type of miracle August trade (if the Red Sox couldn’t do it, don’t count on any blockbusters here). Armando Benitez leads the way in a parade of mediocrity. No getting around it. Translated: No division title, no wild card.

Looking toward the future, which is the only way to look if you’re a Giants fan, you have to wonder if management is at all curious about Daisuke Matsuzaka, the best starting pitcher in Japan and a player who may be made available this offseason. Matsuzaka was a dominant pitcher in the World Baseball Classic and has been racking up typically big numbers back home. San Francisco is an extremely attractive location for any Japanese player (such a shame we’ve had to settle for Shinjo over the seven-year history of Mays Field). The way things work, Matsuzaka has not lodged enough service time to become a typical free agent. He has to be “posted” by his club, the Seibu Lions, and were that to happen, major-league clubs would have to submit one-shot-only bids without having any idea what other clubs are offering. The highest bidder would then pay Seibu for the right to negotiate.

It’s a typically sad state of affairs regarding Manny Ramirez in Boston, where angry fans are ready to believe anything along those pitiful “Manny being Manny” lines. Ramirez missed a couple of games due to a sore hamstring, and according to one theory, he was steamed over an official scorer’s decision during Friday night’s loss to the Yankees at Fenway. So in other words, he’s so mad, he has to be talked into playing? He’s pouting over something that happens routinely at every level? That’s really a stretch … Eye-opening development for everyone in the Giants’ division: Struggling Jake Peavy pitched a 1-0 masterpiece over the Dodgers at Petco Tuesday night. He’s so good, he could easily win the rest of his starts … Should be fascinating to watch 41-year-old Kenny Rogers over the final five weeks in Detroit. He’s a big reason behind the team’s (and his own) resurgence, blending in well with the pitching staff and benefiting from Jim Leyland‘s peerless handling of arms. History shows that he’s a poor second-half pitcher, as well as a dubious postseason performer. History seemed to be repeating itself until Rogers notched a very important, 4-0 win over the White Sox Tuesday night. A story worth following … And finally, here’s to Milton Bradley‘s home-run trot. Continuing to energize the A’s in a million ways, Bradley plays it cool until he gets within a few feet of third base, at which point he suddenly breaks into a sprint. Hilarious, and quite acceptable.